The days of 'petrol in a bottle' are long gone in Austria. The range, quality (and prices)..have increased over the past 10 years. I have to admit..it's like learning to walk again...as it is a 'jungle' of districts and winemakers..and grapes. Crazy Joe...has reached 100 different grapes...if I want to catch up..I'll start with a Chateauneuf-du-Pape..which could contain up to 13 in one bottle! St. Laurent is a grape still planted quite frequently in Austria..and is similar in style to Pinot Noir. The Austrian wines most definitely have a style of their own..no matter what grape. The Umathum below I have tried before 2001 That vintage worked for me...but this lady needed a little more fat to impress. 
Umathum St.Laurent vom Stein 2002
Neusiedlersee, Burgenland, Austria
100% St.Laurent spending 18 months in 100% new medium Allier barrels. 12 months bottle aging before release.
Cool nose...which slowly opened to show
wild forest fruits...flavour is very
sour- cherry..with a mouth-watering juiciness..spices..all sounds pretty good...but a touch more fat on the hips would have swung it.
Points 16.5
CDP is a good place to start, but you may have trouble finding a wine with all 13. St. Laurent? Now I'm thinking of going for 200 different grapes...
ReplyDeleteI cycled through some of the Austrian wine country last summer. Some of the vineyards were amazing, hanging off cliffs that you wouldn't think it was ssafe to climb to harvert. I bored my non-wine-loving cycling companion rigid with my sense of wonder!
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